A Tummy Tuck Can Remove Stretch Marks
All too often after child birth, a woman's skin has stretch marks. A tummy tuck, also known as an abdominoplasty, can remove those marks, as well as excess skin, from a woman's stomach.
After child birth,
many women are left with unsightly stretch marks.
The abdomen skin stretches during pregnancy, and even though the weight may be gone after child birth, the skin simply fails to rebound to its pre-pregnancy state. It cannot bounce back and thus stretch marks are created. Surgical procedures can remove excess skin and fat and tighten the abdomen walls.
A tummy tuck, also known as an abdominoplasty, is one way to help return the stomach muscles and skin to their condition before pregnancy. Stretch marks, especially below the belly button, can oftentimes be substantially reduced or eliminated by an abdominoplasty.
Tightening the stomach walls flattens the abdomen and can correct bulges from pregnancy or weight gain. The flank region is also tightened during the procedure which helps taller people return to more of an hourglass figure.
Not all plastic surgeons perform a tummy tuck so you need to do some research to see just who does the procedures and just whom you want to perform the procedure on you.
A standard abdominoplasty oftentimes ranges from $7,000 to $9,000. A mini tuck can run you $4,500 to $5,500. A circumferential procedure - doing both the stomach and back – normally runs around $12,000.
Any abdominoplasty – even a mini – is substantial surgery and can require anywhere from four days to three weeks of recovery time. Plan on at least two weeks of recovery time for a standard abdominoplasty.
It is a major operation, similar to bypass surgery, and should not be taken lightly. In most patients, between 30 and 50 percent of the stomach skin is removed. Stretch marks often are located on that skin that gets removed, meaning the unsightly lines disappear with surgery. The remaining skin is used to cover the abdominal region making the stomach tighter and thinner.
A standard tummy tuck requires about two hours of surgery and an overnight hospital stay. The surgeon needs to gauge the aftereffects of the procedure before sending you home to continue the recovery process. The morning after your surgery, you may be encouraged to walk around the hospital floor in an effort to get blood circulating through your body to speed recovery. And although you may not be able to stand up completely, do go for that walk to help the healing.
